Niki Tsongas is No. 1 target

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, whose Merrimack Valley district is a hotbed of Scott Brown independents, has emerged as the top Bay State target for Republicans seeking to tap into health-care rage to topple Democrat incumbents.

“Voting for such a partisan and reckless government takeover of health care is a political liability that single-handedly could jeopardize Niki Tsongas’s re-election hopes,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Tony Mazzola.

“Tsongas ignored voters’ concerns and sided with her partisan Washington leaders” on health care, he added.

But Tsongas told the Herald yesterday: “I feel very confident about the record I created. I’m looking forward to the debate.”

The GOP already has two challengers, Seam Meas of Haverill and Jon Golnik of Carlisle, vying to unseat the 62-year-old incumbent, among a field of some 11 hopefuls who have expressed an interest in running for Tsongas’ seat.

Tsongas, the widow of former U.S. Sen. and Democratic presidential candidate Paul Tsongas, succeeded former U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan in a special election in 2007, had no challenger in 2008 and is up for re-election this year.

Republicans say candidates have already lined up for races in nine of 10 U.S. House districts in Massachusetts, with all except Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville) facing a challenger.

But Tsongas is seen as particularly vulnerable, with Brown having taken 20 of 29 towns in the 5th Congressional district, including Lowell, which he won with 52 percent of the vote.

Golnik, a businessman who has commandeered some of Brown’s top strategists, called the health-care overhaul “a mess” that creates a sense of uncertainty for businesses, discouraging new hires.

“I’m gonna need help, I recognize that,” he said. “But I think (Brown) showed there’s a path to victory in a blue state.”

Tsongas sidestepped questions about whether she planned to engage her challengers, and noted she routinely holds tele-town halls, or conference calls with hundreds of residents at one time, to keep in contact with voters.

She touted her work on legislation to curb sexual assaults in the military, passing consumer protections and better body armor for soldiers.

“There’s still much work to be done here,” she said.

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